YELLOWKNIFE - In the rehearsal rooms of Sir John Franklin high school, there is a familiar refrain in the air.

Something about a car. Something about the car being pretty fast. Something about girls liking it.

It's part of play, a musical called... Grease. I don't know, have you heard of it?

Joking aside, a full cast was hard at work furiously fleshing out the musical favourite after the relative calm of spring break.

"There are lots of things that draw people to Grease," says director Landon Peters of the popularity of the play among both crowds and participants.

"These kids are loving it; they love this play."

But this popularity is as dangerous as it is beneficial, according to members of the cast. Familiarity breeds contempt, after all.

"What everyone is thinking about is doing it differently than it's ever been done before," says Sir John student Tim Edwards, who plays bad-boy second-fiddle Kenickie in the musical.

"Everyone's seen it, and they did it here four years ago."To keep things fresh, Peters says he mixed elements of the 1978 movie and the original 1971 stage production into the Sir John version, as well as a few visual surprises.

"From a visual aspect, I hope it will be huge," he says.

While details were scarce, racks upon racks of colourful costumes and massive, unidentifiable set pieces hint at the interesting show to come. This version's Rizzo (Kenickie's bad girl counterpart), Jill Alain, is excited about the break from reality.

"You'd never see someone in (those costumes) in real life," she says. "I think it will be great."

Back on the practice floor, the cast works through the play's ensemble pieces, solos and slices of visual comedy, such as Danny Zuko's disastrous first day as a born-again athlete. During rehearsal, Kira Hall, who also plays Rizzo, stepped in at the last minute to fill in for an absent Sir John instructor who is playing the "Teen Angel."

"Someone just tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I wanted to sing it," she said.

While Hall did her best with the words, she held up a helpful sign at her waist, letting the rest of the cast know this wasn't her normal role.

Don't expect that on opening night.